Kevin Roberts: “I thank the Senator for yielding to me. As has been aptly pointed out by Senator Hoeven, who, by the way, does an…”

“I thank the Senator for yielding to me. As has been aptly pointed out by Senator Hoeven, who, by the way, does an outstanding job as our protector on the all-powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, we are in a tough place. We really are-- rural, smalltown America--given the rural healthcare delivery system with regard to this virus. I thank Senator Fischer, who is in the business and always does a good job of telling the story of the beef producer and of always trying to tell me that Nebraska's beef is more tender or delicious than the beef in Kansas, but that is her right. As Senator Hyde-Smith has just pointed out and what we have been trying to point out--and Senator Stabenow, who just recently spoke on the floor--we on the Ag Committee like to say we are the least partisan committee in the Congress. I think that was evident by the time we passed the farm bill. It took us a year to do it--a little over that-- but we got 87 votes. It was truly bipartisan. I deeply regret that we have reached a point here in the Senate where that is not the case with regard to the whole Senate. If you talk to any agriculture commodity group, any farm organization, or just up and down Main Street throughout Kansas--as a matter of fact, I talked to the chamber of commerce, Senator Moran, who just gave some very pertinent comments to our situation out in Kansas, about the second question in: Chairman Pat, what about our rural areas?…”